What's Going On?
by hmweasley
Summary: Scorpius doesn't know what is prompting Draco to come home late so often, but Albus is sure he has the answer: Draco is clearly seeing someone new.


Dear Albus,

Something really strange is going on. In the past week, Dad's been late getting home four times. Four! It's the weirdest thing. Back when Mum was sick, he was obviously always home because he was taking care of her, and after she died, he just kind of holed himself up. Not to an extreme, but he definitely wasn't coming home late...ever. I don't think he's ever come home past dinner time until now.

Honestly, I thought I'd get home for the summer and it'd be like last summer, where Dad was a little too overbearing and I had to escape to your house, remember? But instead, I haven't seen him that much.

He goes to work, and then he does something else after work. He won't tell me what it is. He just apologizes and says he's been trying to get some new hobbies instead of sitting home all the time, which is great. I just want to know what the hobby is!

If you have any ideas about what might be going on, feel free to let me know because my best guess right now is that he's taken up some Muggle thing or other and is embarrassed about it, but that just doesn't seem like it's it.

How are things at your place? Is your dad still taking you guys to the Chudley Cannons match on Saturday? That's shaping up to be a great game. I'm a little jealous.

Love,

Scorpius

* * *

Dear Scorpius,

Your dad's seeing someone.

And I'm not joking just because you said he needed a date before. This is exactly what happened with Uncle Percy after him and Aunt Audrey got divorced. Molly and Lucy said he started acting strange, and then boom, he told them he was dating Oliver. I even asked Lucy about it, and she agrees with me that that's what's going on.

Ask him who it is! Because I totally can't imagine your dad dating, but that's the only explanation. I want to know who it could be. You have to ask. It'll probably be really awkward, but I bet you can get it out of him if you try.

Anyway, James moved out last week, so things are strangely quiet here. It was nice at first, but (and you can't tell anyone I said this) I'm getting a little bored. I even took Lily up on her offer to play wizard's chess. Can you come over soon? Preferably before I lose my mind?

Love,

Albus

* * *

Scorpius thought about Albus' letter constantly over the following week, during which Draco was late getting home four times. It was true that Scorpius had told Albus he wanted his father to find someone because he felt guilty about how much time he knew his father was spending home alone while he was at Hogwarts.

Still, the reality of his dad actually being with someone who wasn't his mum was proving harder to accept than he had thought it would be. He wasn't against it because he was determined not to be. What he wanted was for Draco to be happy after all. If he felt weird about his dad being in a relationship, it was his own problem, and that, more than anything, was why he couldn't bring himself to directly confront Draco about the issue for days despite what Albus had urged in his letter.

Instead, he tried to pretend that there was nothing strange about Draco coming home late, even when it made him feel crabby, but as the days went on, it was harder and harder to hide his suspicions from his father, who seemed to be waiting for Scorpius to ask him about it.

So, Scorpius sat like a guard beside the fireplace and waited for Draco to come home one night. When the fireplace lit up green, he sucked in a breath. His father stepped out, somehow not as covered in soot as most people would have been after Floo travel.

"Scorpius," Draco greeted, looking surprised to find him waiting. "I didn't think you'd still be awake."

Scorpius hummed in response. In reality, he'd been awake when his father came home every night, though he'd stayed locked away in his room to avoid confrontation. He didn't feel like sharing that bit of information.

"Where have you been?" he asked instead, doing everything in his power to sound curious and not accusatory.

Draco sighed, tugging on the sleeves of his robes in an uncharacteristic fashion. Scorpius watched him with baited breath, more sure than ever that Albus had been right in his letter.

"Actually, Scorpius, I need to speak with you," Draco said, voice trembling. "I've been meaning to since you came home, but I always come up with excuses. While you're here is as good a time as any."

Scorpius remained silent as Draco cleared his throat and and prepared himself for his confession.

"I'm seeing someone."

Scorpius let a moment of silence pass before he responded.

"Oh, really? Who is it?"

Draco cleared his throat.

"That's actually another thing I wanted to share with you. You see, I've been seeing Roger Davies. You've never met him, but he and I went to Hogwarts together. He was the captain of the Ravenclaw Quidditch team while we were at Hogwarts."

Scorpius had lost all ability to control his expression as he gawked at his father. His brow furrowed.

"Wait. When you said 'seeing someone' I thought you meant romantically. Like dating."

Draco's cheeks turned a light pink.

"I did," Draco admitted. "I'm dating Roger. We've been seeing each other for about five months now."

Scorpius had gone into the conversation determined not to sound angry about his father finding someone new, but he'd found himself flabbergasted for an entirely different reason.

"You're queer and you never told me!?" he exclaimed, scooting to the edge of the couch to get closer to his father in his curiosity.

"Yes, well." Draco cleared his throat. "I didn't understand it myself until a few months ago. It was rather surprising, but I suppose I've learned a lot about myself since you and Albus came out. Hearing Albus talk about what it was like to be bisexual was eye opening for me."

Scorpius had just enough awareness to realize his jaw was hanging open and to snap it shut.

"Albus made you realize you're bisexual?" he asked in disbelief. "Wait until I tell him about this. This is wild." He froze. " _Can_ I tell Albus about this?"

Draco nodded, though there was hesitance to the gesture.

"Telling Albus is fine," he said softly. "Go ahead. I hate the idea of creating secrets between the two of you. I do ask that you don't share it with anyone else. Not at the moment. I'd like to do that myself."

Scorpius gave a short nod, still running over everything in his mind.

Draco continued playing with a loose string on his robes as if it was fascinating. Scorpius stood from his place on the couch and moved to sit on the arm of Draco's chair, wrapping his arm around his dad's shoulders. Draco relaxed into the embrace and reached out to hold Scorpius as well.

"I love you, Dad," Scorpius muttered.

"I love you too, son."

Tears coloured Draco's voice, and Scorpius' own eyes stung as they sat there in each other's arms.

* * *

Dear Albus,

You were right. Dad's seeing someone, but the crazy part is that it's not a woman! My dad is bisexual! Can you believe that!? Merlin, you should've seen my face when he told me. I still can't wrap my mind around it. I was so scared to tell him I'm gay, you know? And then it turns out he's bi! It was a lot to take in.

But apparently he's seeing a guy named Roger Davies. Dad said they went to Hogwarts together. He was a Ravenclaw and Quidditch captain. That means your dad had to have played against him too. You should see if you can get any information out of him that my dad won't give me.

I asked about him, but Dad just said I could meet him later. He seemed kind of embarrassed to talk about him. To be honest, I felt kind of embarrassed too, but I was just so curious! I mean, how can I not be curious about some bloke my dad's dating?

As long as he's nice, I'll be okay with it. Can you ask your dad if Roger Davies is nice? But don't tell him why you're asking! Dad doesn't want everyone to know he's bi yet, so please don't be obvious about it! If you find something out, let me know though.

And I miss you so much! Dad said I can come over on Saturday! We can talk more about it then, and you won't be bored because I'll be there and you love me.

Love,

Scorpius

P.S. Dad bought me that new biography on Dumbledore that actually discusses his sexuality without glossing over it. I'm going to bring it on Saturday, so you can see it too.

* * *

It took a few weeks before Draco found the courage to bring Roger home with him for dinner. Scorpius sat attentively across from Roger at the table, watching his every move with open curiosity. Roger didn't seem to notice the attention he was receiving. He wolfed down his food at a speed foreign to Malfoy Manor, where Scorpius had been drilled on proper table manners since birth.

Roger also made loud jokes that left Scorpius staring at him blankly before he could force himself to laugh.

Maybe, he decided after watching Roger for a while, the boisterous man was exactly what his father needed as a break from his otherwise quiet and unexciting life.

"What do you do?" Scorpius asked, realizing they'd almost made it to the end of dinner without him learning such a basic fact.

"I'm an assistant coach for the Falmouth Falcons," Roger said, grinning as he thought about his job. "Actually, you and your dad should come to a game sometime. I've been trying to convince Draco to go for months, but he won't take me up on it."

Draco blushed, and Scorpius surprised himself by laughing. He had a good idea why his father was hesitant to go. The Malfoys weren't known as Falcons fans, so his presence at a game might stir up some speculation from other spectators.

"Yes!" Scorpius exclaimed, laying his enthusiasm on a little thick. "Can we, Dad? And can we bring Albus too?"

"Sure," Draco said, voice shaking slightly. He cleared his throat. "Bringing Albus would be good."

Mostly because he would provide Draco with an excuse to be there, Scorpius realized. Albus' family was known to attend all sorts of Quidditch games regardless of who was playing thanks to Ginny's job. No one would know what team Albus actually supported, which was a great excuse for Draco to have brought the boys to the game.

Roger was thrilled to hear Draco finally agree, and he held his hand out for a high five that Scorpius gladly offered. Draco shook his head as Roger and Scorpius shared a laugh together.

* * *

 **Prompts:**

 **Hogwarts Challenges and Assignments**

Ravenclaw Themed Prompts: Roger Davies

 **HPFC**

Favourite Character Boot Camp: Scorpius Malfoy - crabby

Word count: 1,871


End file.
